Gov. Jerry Brown wants to increase taxes in California. Brown and his allies are working to get a measure on the November ballot — a measure that will increase the state sales tax by one-half percentage point.
The planned tax increase would fall most heavily on low-income people and senior citizens on modest fixed incomes.
If Brown’s effort succeeds, the sales tax in Concord will go from 8.75% to 9.25%. In most of the rest of Contra Costa County, the sales tax will go from 8.25% to 8.75%.
However, in 2011, Californians — and all other Americans — had a hidden fee increase. That increase was 3% inflation.
If someone had $200,000 in the bank during 2011, the value of that money would have gone down by $6,000 — just as if that person had received a tax bill for $6,000.
If that same person, in 2011, had bought gold, the $200,000 would have gone up by 20% — or $40,000.
Gov. Brown does not need to raise taxes. He needs to reform the outrageous pensions that certain state employees receive. The governor also needs to end the $500 billion in unfunded liabilities that the state has accumulated.
The governor should fix California’s financial apocalypse before asking Californians for more tax dollars.
Bill Gram-Reefer is Editor & Publisher of Halfway To Concord, founded in 2004. Halfway To Concord is the leading online source for community-driven political news, events, and opinion for Contra Costa County and the San Francisco East Bay.
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It is so so easy to compare Californis’s budget to Greece.
Both are train wrecks.
And, as far as California politicians go,at all levels, I belong to the DRIP political party: Don’t Re-elect Incumbent Politicans !!!!!!!!
Nor their appointees !!!!!!!!!!!!!!